Favourite sentence from the version of 'Jason and the Argonauts' I'm listening to at the moment: (For context, the heroes are nearing the end of a mighty quest, in which every island they've come to has presented them with a new and terrible enemy; human, beast, monster or Titan. Then:)
Across the millennia, I have a stab of fellow-feeling for the myth-maker. God knows I feel like that about plotting sometimes. Still, think of all the work he could have saved himself if he'd only come up with that approach earlier:
'Next, the brave Argonauts came to the mighty clashing rocks of the Symplegades, which crushed to splinters any ship which passed through them - though on that day, they were being repaired.
Then they arrived at the court of King Aeetes, owner of the fleece, who had sworn that none should have it who could not first yoke his ferocious fire-breathing oxen. Though on that day, he was in a good mood, and agreed to take cash.
Finally, they arrived at the oak tree on which the golden fleece hung, guarded by a mighty dragon with claws of brass and wings of fire, who never slept, needed no repair, and was never in a good mood. Though on that day, he was out. '
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"The vast bed of the waters, seamed and scarred into a thousand conflicting channels, burst suddenly into frenzied convulsions – heaving, boiling, hissing – gyrating in gigantic and innumerable vortices. All whirling and plunging on to the eastward with a rapidity water never elsewhere assumes, except in precipitous descents and, perhaps, when the Water Board decide that this isn't an urgent case and leave the phone switched through to a helpline in New Delhi."
I'll have to write this into something now - throw a ridiculously complicated and contrived problem at some characters then solve it instantly with something ridiculously contrived yet mundane.
"The safe has a 30 second pressure sensitive one time only password, we'll have to.. oh wait, they've left it open"
lucky for them it must have been cold weather that day so the metal dragon went out looking for a can of WD40 coz his articulated tail had seized up!
not many mechanics in Ancient Greece so it took him a while.....
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